Jeff Dunham knew by the time he was 8 that he wanted to make a career out of keeping his mouth shut.
He had already taught himself the basics of ventriloquism and had a year of practice and acclaim under his belt, including his famous "Hansel and Gretel" book report delivered, at age 7, with the help of a Mortimer Snerd puppet.Now, 24 years later, Dunham is living his boyhood dream. He is one of only 15 or 20 performers in the U.S. who make a living as ventriloquists, and he is the only person to twice win "Ventriloquist of the Year," an award judged by his peers.
Dunham will be in Salt Lake City Friday, Nov. 18, performing at the Capitol Theatre.
In the beginning, says Dunham, ventriloquism was a way for a shy boy to gain acceptance by his classmates. Today, he says, it's a unique vehicle for comedy, one that separates him from the pack of run-of-the-mill stand-up comedians.
But Dunham says he thinks of himself less as a ventriloquist than "a comedian who happens to use ventriloquism." It's the jokes - the exchange between himself and his dummies - that bring people back, he says.
Sometimes, he says, people seem to forget that his dummies aren't flesh-and-blood comedians. "My biggest compliment is when people say `Those guys were funny."'
Dunham's wooden and cloth comedy troupe consists of Walter, a grouchy senior citizen; Peanut, a pot-bellied purple creature described by his creator as "a Muppet on drugs;" Jose Jalapeno-on-a-stick; and cameo appearances by Dunham's second-string dummies, including Bubba ("white trash who doesn't know it," says Dunham).
The grumpy Walter gained notoriety a few years ago after he appeared with Dunham on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" and insulted the host and Ed McMahon. "Stop sending me all that damn mail," he told Ed.
Walter's behavior would have been offensive coming from a human, Dunham admits. Why it works for an inanimate object is still a mystery to him, he says.
Tickets for Dunham's Salt Lake appearance are $15. Show time is 8 p.m.